Having directed two undisputed masterpieces, CITIZEN KANE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, Orson Welles delved into the suspense film, crafting a baroque postwar thriller that drew upon the style of his previous work, while laying the groundwork for his later film noir classics THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI and TOUCH OF EVIL. Edward G. Robinson stars as Wilson, a government agent who tracks down a high-ranking Nazi officer who has managed to craft a new identity for himself in a quaint Connecticut town, marrying the daughter of a local judge.
Circulated in poor versions for decades, this edition of THE STRANGER was mastered in HD from an original 35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress, and is accompanied by a wealth of supplemental material.

Time has done an injustice to this overlooked noir thriller. The world that was 1946 and the fears and anxieties of neo-nazi counterinsurgency, and post-war chaos in battered Europe seem distant and faded. Yet time is one of the themes of the “The Stranger.” Clocks are broken; hands run backwards. Our time—our destiny—seems to be out of our control…and we must be wary of those who try to set the hands of the clock to schedule their own agenda.

The centerpiece of “The Stranger” is the performances. There quiet strength and nobility of Edward G. Robinson as the detective and Orson Welles’ wide-eyed manic portrayal as his quarry, a human monster in our midst. For these reasons, “The Stranger” is timeless.

Masterpiece classic! Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young--nonstop suspense and psychological thriller. Probably one of the first movies to deal with the horror of the Nazi holocaust in a realistic way. Prophetic about the fate of warring nations. Welles captures expressions vividly.

the best movie I've seen on Fandor yet .. Edward G. Robinson was very good and so was Orson Welles , Loretta Young was just ok . The suporting cast was very good ... no one I recognized from old 1950s low budget TV series .